NFLPA, coaches association settle their lawsuits

The NFL Coaches Association and the NFL Players Association have settled their lawsuits against each other.

David Cornwell, executive director of the coaches association, confirmed the lawsuits were settled earlier this month and could not be refiled. He declined to offer specifics.

Cornwell, a well-known player lawyer, ran for the NFLPA’s top post in 2009, ultimately losing out to current NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. Since then, the two have verbally sparred, and the lawsuits were filed in 2012 in a Washington, D.C., court.

The coaches association had essentially been a division of the NFLPA for a decade, prior to the group electing Cornwell as its executive director in February 2012. The NFLPA then refused to allow Cornwell to tap into a union-controlled coaches association bank account, which had $308,509.69. The NFLPA also demanded the group pay back union loans the lawsuit said totaled $650,324.88.

The NFLPA questioned the validity of Cornwell’s election, as well.

The NFLCA represents coaches but is not a union.

Cornwell said the coaches association is now operating as its own group. He would not say whether he had gained access to the bank account.